Freemasons' Tavern Explained

The Freemasons' Tavern was established in 1775 at 61–65 Great Queen Street in the West End of London. It served as a meeting place for a variety of notable organisations from the 18th century until it was demolished in 1909 to make way for the Connaught Rooms.

History

In 1769, the Premier Grand Lodge of England decided to build a Central Hall. A building was purchased in Great Queen Street in 1775 and Thomas Sandby was tasked with building a hall in the garden. The original house became the tavern with a second house providing office space for the Freemasons. In 1813 the Premier Grand Lodge and rival Ancient Grand Lodge of England merged to form the United Grand Lodge of England.

The hall was not only used for Masonic purposes, but also became an important venue in London for a variety of meetings and concerts.^[1] Organisations using the hall included:

• • • Political Economy Club African Institution British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society,^[1] for the World Anti-Slavery Convention in 1840^[2]
• British and Foreign Bible Society^[1]
• Fund for the Relief of the Suffering Clergy of France in the British Dominions ^[3]
• Highland and Island Emigration Society^[4]
• The Football Association (FA) held its first meeting here on 26 October 1863
• Geological Society of London was founded here in 1807^[5]

Connaught Rooms

In 1909 the Grand Lodge demolished most of the Freemasons' Tavern and replaced it over succeeding decades with a new building designed by H. V. Ashley and Winton Newman, who also designed the adjoining Freemasons' Hall. The new building, costing £30,000, was named the Connaught Rooms after the Lodge's Grand Master, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn.^[5]

After a further renovation by Friendly Hotels (later the Real Hotel Company) in the 1980s it reopened as the New Connaught Rooms, a hotel and conference centre. The art deco Grand Hall can seat 800 conference delegates. When the Real Hotel Company collapsed in 2009,^[6] Principal Hayley Group bought the venue,^[7] renamed it the Grand Connaught Rooms,^{[7] [8]} and in 2016 placed it in its De Vere brand.^[9] In 2010 it became Grade II* listed.

External sites

51.5156°N -0.1205°W

Notes and References

1. Web site: Freemasons' Hall, London: A History. https://web.archive.org/web/20160719101741/http://www.freemasonry.london.museum/resources/history-of-freemasons-hall/. 19 July 2016. History of Freemasonry. Library and Museum Charitable Trust of the United Grand Lodge of England. 19 July 2016.
2. Web site: The Anti-Slavery Society Convention, 1840 . . 20 December 2020.
3. Margery Weiner, The French Exiles 1789-1815 (John Murray, 1960), p. 56-7.
4. LVII. Balfour. R.A.C.. 1990–92. The Highland and Island Emigration Society, 1852–1858. Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness. 440.
5. Book: Moody . Richard T. J. . Dining with the Founding Fathers: a personal view . 2009 . Special Publications . 317 . 1 . 439–448 . 10.1144/SP317.24 . Lewis . Cherry . Knell . Simon J. . The Making of the Geological Society of London . Geological Society of London . 978-1-86239-277-9 . 128713727 . https://books.google.com/books?id=7tIdQtNsgX0C&pg=PA439 . 7 July 2020 . en .
6. Web site: Thorley . Chantelle . New Connaught Rooms latest crunch casualty . Campaign . 7 July 2020 . 23 January 2009.
7. Web site: McGhee . Christy . Grand Connaught Rooms' relaunch party . Conference & Incentive Travel . 7 July 2020 . 26 October 2009.
8. News: Edwards . Peter . Principal Hayley aims to check in with deals for more quality hotels . The Yorkshire Post . 25 June 2009 . Leeds . They will spend a further £7m on refurbishing the New Connaught, which will be renamed The Grand Connaught Rooms, as they seek to attract more high-end customers to stay overnight at both properties and use their conference facilities..
9. Web site: De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms . De Vere . 7 July 2020 . en . 16 May 2016.